You raise up your head and you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says, "It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?" and somebody else says, "Well, what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God, am I here all alone?"
But something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
-Ballad Of Thin Man
Quiet, withdrawn 13-year-old Rynn Jacobs (Jodie Foster) lives peacefully in her home in a New England beach town. Whenever the prying landlady (Alexis Smith) inquires after Rynn's father, she politely claims that he's in the city on business. But when the landlady's creepy and increasingly persistent son, Frank (Martin Sheen), won't leave Rynn alone, she teams up with kindly neighbor boy Mario (Scott Jacoby) to maintain the dark family secret that she's been keeping to herself
This movie is amazing in every possible way. it a masterclass on how to make a compelling mystery without relying on cheap gimmicks and violence, and its packed full of wonderfully developed characters. Jodie foster was already a pro actor by age 13, and her performance in this movie is incredible. But she isn't the only pro actor on set who gives an amazing performance, every single character in this movie is incredibly acted. Martin Sheen is Frank Booth levels of terrifying, Scott Jacoby is a wonderfully adorable partner in crime, Alexis Smith is one perfectly bitchy realtor, and Mort Shuman is the only likeable adult in the whole movie and a cop at the same time.
Unfortunately a producer's desire for "sex and violence" led to a nude scene depicting Rynn being added to the film that is totally unneeded and yucky. Foster strongly objected, saying "I walked off the set", and as a result her older sister Connie acted as the nude double. Thankfully, you obviously see Rynn turn into a 22 year old girl in this movies only nude scene, but it existence at all is a massive what the fuck for me. A VHS release of the film removed the nudity, but it was re-added to the DVD so thats... great...
The genre has been debated, with Feaster arguing it was more psychological thriller than horror. Jim Cullen summed the film up as "a strange hybrid" of genres, being a horror, thriller and feminist film. Kord listed it among dramas about "Eerie, malevolent or criminal children", distinct from depictions of children in the supernatural horror genre. Martin Sheen said it was a horror film in some ways, but "not overt", with mystery and suspense elements. However, director Nicolas Gessner denied it was horror, characterizing it as "a teenage love story".
whatever box you attempt to put this movie in, its the best movie i have seen since 1984's ANGEL. and i fucking looooove ANGEL.
100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000/10
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